This article is written by Georgia Brougham, previous Senior Policy Advisor at the Department for Education. The views of this author are their own and do not represent the views of their organisation, past or present.

  • The problem: The skills developed in community roles are often undervalued in other government work.
  • Why it matters: These skills can be crucial in engaging the ‘end-users’ of policies.
  • The solution: Recognising the value of working with communities and reflecting these lessons within policy work.

Four years ago, while working as a support worker at a national disability charity, I took a group of teenagers with complex needs to a trampoline park. After a few of the teenagers snuck some contraband sweets onto the trip. I ended up chasing a teenager on a sugar high around the trampoline park, trying to stop her from running out the exit while avoiding (and apologising to) the small children who were getting bounced off in her wake.

As I leave my current role as Senior Policy Advisor working on Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) at the Department for Education to move to New Zealand, I have been reflecting on how my community roles — working with children and vulnerable adults as a disability support worker, daycare attendant, daycare manager, nanny, tutor and more recently as a volunteer for a local women's shelter — has benefited my policy work.

**What are end-users and why do they matter? **

End users are, put simply, the people or communities that policies affect. End-users facing multiple disadvantages including disabilities, mental health issues and contact with the criminal justice system, are more likely to interact with multiple services and professionals. These are therefore often the end-users for multiple policies, while also being some of the hardest to reach. This is an issue for policymakers, as good policy should theoretically be developed in collaboration with end-users.

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Considering the needs of the end-user has become a bit of a buzzword in the policy community, although it does not always result in meaningful engagement. In the article below I set out how valuable skills learnt from community roles have allowed me to better consider the needs of the end-users. Highlighting not only useful considerations for policy colleagues but also the fact that community workers have valuable and transferable corporate skills.

Keeping perspective

There is a strange duality to Government policy roles where the immediacy of issues contrasts with the reality of bureaucratic work. This balance can make life stressful for policy professionals, where the demand for immediate solutions is balanced with lengthy processes for policy advice, clearances and business cases.

When an average day used to involve planning and delivering a curriculum, settling fights and responding to crises (usually toilet-related) urgent parliamentary questions or briefings do not feel so daunting. Equally, I have seen how challenging it is to navigate the world as an individual with complex disabilities. Contextualising policy work within community roles allows me to keep perspective on the immediacy of issues and continue to push for progress. In the UK Civil Service, we receive up to 5 days off to volunteer. I encourage policy colleagues to use these days to better engage with and understand their local communities.

Communicating in plain English

Normal people do not speak like civil servants. In my policy role, I often refer to children and young people with ‘Profound and Multiple disabilities’ (PMLD), however, this was not a term I would have previously recognised. In my support role, service users were referred to by their name, not by a condition or acronym.

It is therefore important to present policies in plain English that are contextualised within the lives of end-users. Regular interaction with stakeholders can support this, which in my case means getting out of the office to visit educational settings.

Consulting throughout the process

Often plans to engage end-users are put at the end of the policy process, for instance as part of a consultation. However, this does not always give enough scope for end-users to meaningfully change the direction of policy travel. At my local women’s shelter, service users complained that a local government consultation on homelessness only asked for feedback on proposed policy changes. This didn’t allow those with lived experience of homelessness to propose solutions, for instance by expanding local housing first policies.

Consulting with vulnerable populations in the policy process can be tricky but isn’t impossible. In the UK Civil Service, we have established child and young person consultation groups to help with this. If you don’t have an equivalent, you can also consider consulting with advocacy groups. This may lead to difficult conversations where, as a government representative, you may have to answer for policies beyond your control. I have found that starting from a place of shared understanding — in my case, improving the lives and outcomes of children with SEND — helps establish a useful common ground for building trust.

I encourage other policy professionals to reflect on how their unique experiences have influenced and supported their work. For instance, I have worked alongside a lot of brilliant teachers, whose insight into frontline education has proved invaluable.

Done reading? Make sure to share your own thoughts on how community experience can shape better policies by leaving a comment below ⬇️

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